Police violence

GENERAL APPEAL (Philippines): Systemic failure to prevent a pattern of arbitrary deprivation of dozens of lives

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern regarding the continuing failure by the police and the local government to ensure protection and prevent the systematic murders in General Santos City. At least 29 persons, five of whom are minors, have already been killed from February 4 to May 16, 2008 […]

INDIA: Teenage girl raped while she was held as bonded labourer by mill owner in Gujarat

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan, a human rights organisation working on Dalit rights in Gujarat, about the case of a teenage girl, originally from the tribal community in Rajasthan, raped by a mill owner. The victim worked with her brother for 11 months at a mill in […]

CAMBODIA: Police report a man drowned in water of hardly a meter depth

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man was found dead with a broken neck and severe injuries on his head in a river in Takeo province on 8 May 2008. The police have classified the case as accidental drowning. It is suspected that the man’s death was a political […]

SRI LANKA: Police fabricate charges against two men after assault on his private matter

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the assault of two men by police officers attached to Hikkaduwa Police Station on 2 April 2008. One police officer abused his position over a personal matter and assaulted them. He later laid fabricated charges against them. Although acknowledging this case, the OIC […]

NEPAL: An alleged serious assault of a political activist by Maoists in Bhojpur district

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring your notice the cases of abduction and a serious assault which has not yet been adequately investigated and in which no perpetrators have been arrested. The incident appears to be connected with a political dispute between two area groups of the CPN-M, popularly known […]

INDIA: Session’s judge supports caste based discrimination in Gujarat

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan, a human rights organisation working on Dalit rights in Gujarat, about caste based discrimination practiced during village panchayat (village council) meetings since 2007. The victim in this case was denied the right to file a complaint with the local police and moreover, […]

INDIA: Another Dalit murdered by the dominant caste members over the land dispute in Gujarat

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan, a human rights organisation working on Dalit rights in Gujarat about the forced displacement of a Dalit (formerly known as ‘untouchable’) community as a result of the murder of a Dalit by upper caste persons. In August 2007, nine Rajputs (upper caste) […]

BURMA: Young woman and man illegally held and charged without evidence over protests

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that a young woman and young man are among those persons currently being tried in courts in Burma over their alleged roles in the nationwide protests of last August and September. The two were illegally held without charge for months before being brought […]

BANGLADESH: False charges against two persons in jail must be dropped

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Bangladesh that a judge of a Special Tribunal for Women has ordered the detention of two persons in absence of a thorough investigation and solely on the basis of a false complaint. The two detainees, whom the police have arrested on March 30, […]

NEPAL: Alleged brutal torture of a man by Kathmandu police

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by another report from Nepal of the alleged brutal torture by the police. According to the information we have received, a man was illegally arrested by the metropolitan police in Kathmandu district on 1 April 2008 and brutally tortured for 5 hours until he […]

INDIA: A Dalit brutally murdered by the dominant caste members in Gujarat

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan, a human rights organisation working on Dalit rights in Gujarat about the murder of a Dalit (lower caste untouchable community according to the caste Hindus in India) by upper and dominant caste persons in Kasumbad village, Gujarat. The murder was the culmination […]

UPDATE (Cambodia): Police fail to investigate series of death threats against a journalist

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a journalist has received renewed threats on his life since January 2008 in Cambodia. He was warned “to be careful” and a number of live assault rifle cartridges were found in the yard. The AHRC has earlier reported series of death threats against him, […]

UPDATE (Philippines): Police halts investigation blaming victim’s failure to identify attackers

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern about the manner the police conducted its investigation into the case of a 32-year-old farmer who was abducted, tortured and left for dead. The victim survived from his ordeal but the investigation has come to a halt after the police argued that the […]

PHILIPPINES: Policemen attack peaceful protest yet again

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that 37 protestors have been injured when the policemen violently dispersed them. The police hit them with clubs, truncheons and stabbed one of them with a bladed weapon. One had his little finger cut; others suffered fractured bones and cuts on their heads. […]

UPDATE (Cambodia): Urgent call for prompt investigation into the alleged torture of a police officer in Kep seaside town

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that to date no investigation has been conducted into the alleged torture of police officer Pring Pov in Kep seaside town. He was punished for refusing to follow an order to cede his land to a senior government minister. (See further: AHRC-UAC-045-2008; AHRC-UAU-012-2008) UPDATE INFORMATION: Pring Pov, […]

UPDATE (Cambodia): Urgent call for prompt investigation into alleged torture

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that no prompt investigation has been conducted into the alleged torture of a young man which occurred on 7 February 2008. He was severely injured due to assault. (See further: AHRC-UAC-034-2008) UPDATE INFORMATION: Keo Sokea, a police officer named allegedly beat Taing Thavy with a rifle […]

NEPAL: Constant and arbitrary arrest of Tibetan protesters by police

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern regarding the routine practice by the Nepalese police of arresting and subsequently detaining Tibetan protesters holding peaceful demonstrations. On March 28, at least 89 persons, including women, children and Buddhist monks, were taken into police custody from the districts of Kathmandu and Lalitpur. […]

SRI LANKA: Police allegedly fabricated charges against a man and his family members

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Baduraliya police allegedly fabricated charges against a man and his family members on 8 March 2008 in Sri Lanka. Police took one family member to police custody and forced him to sign a statement, which he never made. Later all four family members […]

BURMA: Young man wrongly jailed on charge of inciting September protests

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been documenting cases of illegal arrest, detention and prosecution since the nationwide protests in Burma last September. In this appeal we give the details of the case of one young man who was arrested because of having some publications linked to those events and after a […]

BURMA: Young woman jailed for life without getting lawyer and in violation of many procedures

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned about the case of a young woman who was arrested coming into Burma from neighbouring Thailand and charged with illegal immigration, joining in illegal associations and sedition. The laying of charges and the passing of sentences against Ma Thanda were all in violation of […]